Abstract

The relationship between animals and human society is close, the animal words are one of the first vocabularies to enter the human vocabulary system. Among the various elements of language, vocabulary is the basic element, which contains a lot of animal-related vocabularies. Because of the different history of the two peoples, different traditions, different customs, and even different ways of thinking, through the accumulation of historical animal vocabulary formed in the cultural connotation there are some similarities, more differences. This thesis intends to analyze the connotative meaning of animal vocabulary from the perspective of cross - cultural communication, and discuss the similarities and differences of cultural connotation and the English - Chinese translation.

    The thesis is divided into four parts: The first part is the introduction of the concept of cultural significance and characteristics. In the cultural aspect, the definition of culture and the function of culture are introduced. The second part is the main introduction of animal vocabulary in Chinese and western culture with different interpretation. The same kind of animal words have the same interpretations, different animal words have different interpretations and different animal words, still the same interpretations. The third part is the main reasons for the different interpretations of animals caused by Chinese and Western cultures. The final part of the full text is the conclusion and summary, it is about the mastery of culture go first and the meaning of vocabulary second, and the leaners should be trained to develop an ability of linking culture with language effectively so that the accurate information of language and culture can be achieved for a better cross-cultural communication. 

Keywords: intercultural communication; animal vocabulary; comparative analysis; cultural connotation

Contents

摘要

Abstract

1. Introduction-5

1.1 The significance of the animal interpretation between Chinese and Western culture-5

1.2 The definition and characteristics of culture-5

1.2.1 The definition of culture-5

1.2.2 The characteristics of culture-6

1.3 Intercultural communication-7

2. The general description of animal interpretation-9

2.1 Same animals with similar interpretation-9

2.2 Different animals with different interpretation-10

2.2.1 Traditional cultural differences-10

2.2.2 The difference between aesthetic value orientation and social psychology-11

2.2.3 The same animal word in English has a derogatory, but not in Chinese-11

2.3 Different animals with similar interpretation-11

3. The causes for the different animal interpretation-12

3.1 The historical causes-12

3.2 The religious causes-13

3.3 Aesthetic orientation-13

4. Conclusion-14

References

Acknowledgements-